Wireless network architecture for providing media content

ABSTRACT

A method includes receiving, at a base station from a first mobile device, where the first data request is associated with first data of a first data type. The method includes, based on the first data type of the first data, transmitting the first data to the first mobile device. The method includes receiving, at the base station, second data, where the second data has a second data type different than the first data type. The second data is associated with a second data request originated by a second mobile device different than the first mobile device. Information associated with the second data request is received by the server from a different base station and sent to the base station based on the second data type of the second data. The method also includes transmitting the second data to the second mobile device.

PRIORITY CLAIM

The present application claims priority from, and is a continuation of,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/440,798, filed Feb. 23, 2017, whichis a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/561,637, filedDec. 5, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,622,145, each of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is generally related to wireless communications.

BACKGROUND

Conventional television broadcasts are transmitted via designatedfrequency spectrums. For example, the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) has designated certain frequency spectrums (e.g., frequency bands)for television stations to broadcast television content. Conventionaltelevision broadcasts may be inefficient, as transmission resources areused to broadcast the television content regardless of a number ofconsumers that are watching the broadcast.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a particular embodiment of a system forselectively providing data to mobile device(s) of a wirelesscommunication network via particular base station(s) selected based on adata type of data associated with a data request and a location of amobile device that originated the data request;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of another embodiment of a system for selectivelyproviding data to mobile device(s) of a wireless network via particularbase station(s) selected based on a data type of data associated with adata request and a location of a mobile device that originated the datarequest;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that illustrates a particular embodiment of amethod for selecting a base station to transmit data to a mobile devicebased on a data type of data associated with a data request and alocation of the mobile device that originated the data request;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates a particular embodiment of amethod for selecting a particular antenna of a base station to be usedto transmit data to a mobile device based on a data type of dataassociated with a data request from the mobile device;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are flow diagrams that illustrate a particularembodiment of a method for selecting a cellular broadcast tower (CBT) totransmit data of a particular data type to a mobile device (e.g., when anumber of data requests that have been received exceeds a threshold);and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an illustrative embodiment of a generalcomputer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Cellular network providers may be capable of broadcasting televisioncontent. As one example, a cellular network provider may reallocate aportion of a frequency spectrum that is designated for voice and/or datacommunications to the broadcasting of television content (e.g., at adesignated time after a “busy time” for voice and/or datacommunications). However, if few (or no) customers are watching thetelevision broadcasts, the reallocation of the portion of the frequencyspectrum may be inefficient. Instead, the network resources that areused to provide the television broadcasts may be more efficiently usedto provide voice and/or data communications.

The present disclosure describes a network architecture for a wirelesscommunication network (e.g., a cellular network) in which networkresources (for providing voice and/or data communications to mobiledevices) may be selectively allocated for providing media content to themobile devices. The network architecture may adaptively respond torequests for media content (e.g., multimedia data corresponding tobroadcast media content, on-demand media content, etc.) by allocating aportion of network resources to servicing the requests for the mediacontent while retaining some network resources for providing voiceand/or data communications. For example, a frequency spectrum that isallocated to a service provider includes a group of channels, andindividual channels include subcarriers that represent resource blocks.In this case, allocating network resources may include allocating aparticular number of resource blocks (a group of subcarriers) in achannel to servicing requests for media content. The networkarchitecture may enable the service provider (e.g., a wirelesscommunications service provider) to more efficiently use networkresources to provide media content to mobile devices and to providevoice and/or data communications to mobile devices.

A network node (e.g., a base station) may operate in accordance with oneor more wireless communication standards to provide voice and/or datacommunications to mobile devices via a network. To illustrate, in thecontext of wireless communications based on a Long Term Evolution (LTE)standard, a base station may be referred to as an “eNode B” node. Forexample, the network node may include a transmission tower of a wirelesscommunications network, such as a cellular network. One or more networknodes of the wireless communication network may be designated ascellular broadcast towers (CBTs) that may be configured to support voiceand/or data communications as well as asymmetric media contenttransmissions. For example, in an LTE network, one or more network nodes(e.g., one or more eNode B nodes) may transmit data via one or moremultimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) transmissions (e.g., oneor more enhanced MBMS (eMBMS) transmissions). A network node (e.g., oneof the CBTs) may receive requests for media content from the mobiledevices and may adaptively respond to the requests. To illustrate, thenetwork node may receive a request for media content from a mobiledevice. The request for media content may be received via an uplink (UL)channel that is used for providing voice and/or data communications viathe network node.

The network node may allocate a portion of network resources to mediacontent transmissions. For example, the network may operate usingorthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), and a group of OFDMresource blocks may be reserved for performing the voice and/or datacommunications via the network. The network node may allocate a firstportion of the network resources (e.g., a subset of the group of OFDMresource blocks) to media content transmissions instead of providing thevoice and/or data communications. After the allocation, the network nodemay transmit the media content to the mobile device via the firstportion of the network resources. Remaining network resources (e.g., aremainder of the OFDM resource blocks) may be used for providing thevoice and/or data communications, or for providing other content toother mobile devices.

An application (e.g., a media player) at the mobile device may determinethat the media content has completed (or is otherwise no longer beingdisplayed) and may send a signal (e.g., a termination message) to thenetwork node. Responsive to receiving the termination message, thenetwork node may terminate transmission of the media content and mayde-allocate the portion of the network resources (e.g., the subset ofthe group of OFDM resource blocks) for media content transmissions andre-allocate the portion of the network resources to provide voice and/ordata communications. In this manner, network resources may be used fortransmitting the media content on an “as-needed” basis, and networkresources may be re-allocated in response to receiving terminationmessage(s) from mobile device(s) that requested the media content. In aparticular embodiment, the network node may not provide the mediacontent until a particular number of mobile devices have requested themedia content. For example, the network node may receive multiplerequests for the media content from multiple mobile devices, and when acount of the multiple mobile devices exceeds a threshold value, thenetwork node may provide the media content to the multiple mobiledevices.

The media content may be transmitted at a higher transmission power thanthe voice and/or data communications. For example, the network node maytransmit the media content at a first transmission power that is higherthan a second transmission power associated with the voice and/or datacommunications. In a particular embodiment, the first transmission powermay be set to a maximum equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP)permitted by the FCC. Transmitting the media data at the firsttransmission power (e.g., the higher transmission power) may enable themedia data to be provided to mobile devices that are outside of atransmission range for voice and/or data communications. Additionally,an antenna of the network node may be mounted higher on the transmissiontower than an antenna of a conventional cellular transmission tower,which may further extend a range that the network node is able toprovide the media content. If the mobile device that requests the mediacontent is outside of a voice and/or data communications range of thenetwork node, the mobile device may transmit the request to a secondnetwork node (e.g., a conventional network node), and the second networknode may forward the request to the network node that provides the mediacontent.

The first transmission power (e.g., the transmission power associatedwith transmitting the media content) and/or the portion of the networkresources may be selected to reduce interference (e.g., co-channelinterference) with voice and/or data communications in other cells. Forexample, the first transmission power and/or the portion of the networkresources may be selected in accordance with an intercell interferencecontrol scheme associated with a wireless communication standard. In aparticular embodiment, the wireless communication standard is along-term evolution (LTE) standard. For example, network nodes in an LTEnetwork (referred to as “eNode B” nodes in the context of the LTEstandard) are configured to reduce interference in accordance with anintercell interference control (ICIC) scheme or an enhanced ICIC (eICIC)scheme (in the context of the LTE-Advanced standard), and the networknode (e.g., an eNode B scheduler) may select the first transmissionpower and/or the portion of the network resources in accordance withthese preprogrammed ICIC or eICIC schemes. Such a selection of the firsttransmission power and/or the portion of the network resources mayreduce degradation of voice and/or data communications in neighboringcells due to transmission of the media content. Additionally, theportion of the network resources may correspond to a set of LTE resourceblocks (e.g., individual resource blocks that have a total size of 180kHz in a frequency domain and 0.5 ms in a time domain).

In a particular embodiment, a method includes receiving informationassociated with a first data request from a first base station at aserver of a wireless communication network. The first data request isreceived at the first base station from a first mobile device. Themethod includes selecting a second base station to transmit dataresponsive to the first data request to the first mobile device based ona data type of the data (e.g., a request for media content or a requestfor non-media content) and based on a location of the first mobiledevice. The method further includes transmitting the data from theserver to the second base station.

In another particular embodiment, a server includes a processor and amemory. The memory is coupled to the processor and stores instructionsthat are executable by the processor to perform operations. Theoperations include receiving information associated with a data requestfrom a first base station, where the data request is received at thefirst base station from a first mobile device. The operations alsoinclude selecting a second base station to transmit data responsive tothe data request to the first mobile device based on a data type of thedata (e.g., a request for media content or a request for non-mediacontent) and based on a location of the first mobile device. Theoperations further include transmitting the data to the second basestation.

In another particular embodiment, a base station includes a firstantenna, a second antenna, a processor, and a memory coupled to theprocessor. The memory stores instructions that are executable by theprocessor to perform various operations. The operations may includereceiving a first data request associated with data of a first data typefrom a first mobile device via the first antenna and transmitting firstdata to the first mobile device via the first antenna based on the firstdata request. The operations may also include receiving second data froma server. The second data is associated with a second data requestassociated with data of a second data type that is originated by asecond mobile device and that is received by the server from a differentbase station. The operations further include transmitting the seconddata to the second mobile device via the second antenna.

Referring to FIG. 1, a particular embodiment of a system of wirelesscommunications is illustrated and generally designated 100. FIG. 1illustrates a particular example of a wireless communication network 102that includes a server 104 and multiple base stations for providingwireless communication service(s) to one or more mobile devices. Theserver 104 may select a base station to provide data responsive to adata request from a mobile device based at least in part on informationassociated with the data request (e.g., a type of data that isrequested, such as media content) and based on a location of the mobiledevice.

The server 104 includes a processor 106 and a memory 108 that iscommunicatively coupled to the processor 106. In the example of FIG. 1,the memory 108 stores data 110 (e.g., locations associated withindividual base stations of the wireless communication network 102) anda base station selector 112 that is configured to select a particularbase station for communication with a particular mobile device based oninformation (e.g., one or more transmission ranges and/or one or moretransmission powers) associated with individual base stations of thewireless communication network 102. In the illustrative example of FIG.1, the wireless communication network 102 includes a first base station114, a second base station 116, a third base station 118, and a fourthbase station 120. In alternative embodiments, the wireless communicationnetwork 102 may include more than four base stations or less than fourbase stations.

The first base station 114 includes a processor 122, a memory 124, andan antenna 126. A transmission range 128 and a transmission power 130may be associated with the first base station 114, and the server 104may store the transmission range 128 and the transmission power 130associated with the first base station 114 in the memory 108 as thefirst base station information.

In the particular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the second basestation 116 includes a processor 132, a memory 134, a first antenna 136,and a second antenna 138. A first transmission range and a firsttransmission power may be associated with the first antenna 136, and asecond transmission range and a second transmission power may beassociated with the second antenna 138. The server 104 may store theindividual transmission ranges 140 and the individual transmissionpowers 142 associated with the first antenna 136 and the second antenna138 of the second base station 116 in the memory 108 as the second basestation information.

A frequency spectrum may be associated with voice communications anddata communications in the wireless communication network 102. Thefrequency spectrum may represent network resources that are allocated toa particular service provider that is associated with the wirelesscommunication network 102. The frequency spectrum may include a group ofchannels, and individual channels include subcarriers that representresource blocks (e.g., LTE resource blocks in the context ofcommunications based on the LTE standard). FIG. 1 illustrates that thesecond base station 116 is configured to (dynamically) allocate a firstportion of the network resources (e.g., a first number of resourceblocks) to transmission of data responsive to data requests for data ofa first data type and to store allocation information in the memory 134as a first network resource allocation 144. The second base station 116is configured to (dynamically) allocate a second portion of the networkresources (e.g., a second number of resource blocks) to transmission ofdata responsive to data requests for data of a second data type and tostore allocation information in the memory 134 as a second networkresource allocation 146. To illustrate, the first data type mayrepresent voice and/or data communications, and the second data type mayrepresent media content, such as broadcast media content, on-demandmedia content, or a combination thereof.

In the particular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the second basestation 116 is configured to transmit data of the first data type (e.g.,voice and/or other non-media content) via the first antenna 136, and thesecond base station 116 is configured to transmit data of the seconddata type (e.g., media content) via the second antenna 138. The secondantenna 138 may transmit data of the second data type at a transmissionpower that is greater than a transmission power associated with thefirst antenna 136 that transmits data of the first data type. Forexample, the second base station 116 may transmit the data of the seconddata type (e.g., media content) via the second antenna 138 at atransmission power at a maximum equivalent isotropically radiated power(EIRP) permitted by the FCC. Transmitting the data of the second datatype at a higher transmission power may allow the second base station116 to provide the data (media content) to mobile devices that may beoutside a voice and/or data communications range of another base station(e.g., the second base station 116) that may represent a network node ofthe wireless communication network 102 that is designated for providingmedia content. To illustrate, the first base station 114 may receive arequest for media content, the first base station 114 may transmitinformation associated with the request for media content to the server104, and the server 104 may forward the request to the second basestation 116 (that is designated as a network node for providing mediacontent). In some cases, a position of the second antenna 138 may belocated at a higher elevation than the first antenna 136. As an example,the second antenna 138 may be mounted higher on a transmission towerassociated with the second base station 116 than the first antenna 136.Mounting the second antenna 138 higher on the transmission tower mayextend a range that the second base station 116 is able to provide dataof the second data type (e.g., media content).

In some embodiments, the transmission power associated with the secondantenna 138 and/or the portion of the network resources allocated toproviding data of the second data type (i.e., the second networkresource allocation 146) may be selected to reduce interference withvoice and/or data communications in other cells (e.g., a cell associatedwith the first base station 114), as described further herein withrespect to FIG. 2. For example, the first transmission power and/or theportion of the network resources may be selected in accordance with anintercell interference control scheme associated with a wirelesscommunication standard. In a particular embodiment, the wirelesscommunication standard is an LTE standard. For example, network nodes inan LTE network are configured to reduce interference in accordance withan ICIC scheme or an eICIC scheme, and the network node (i.e., thesecond base station 116 in this example, referred to as “eNode B” in anLTE context) may select the first transmission power and/or the portionof the frequency spectrum in accordance with these preprogrammed ICIC oreICIC schemes. Such a selection of the first transmission power and/orthe portion of the network resources may reduce degradation of voiceand/or data communications in neighboring cells due to transmission ofthe media content.

FIG. 1 further illustrates that the third base station 118 includes aprocessor 148, a memory 150, and an antenna 152. A transmission range154 and a transmission power 156 may be associated with the third basestation 118, and the server 104 may store the transmission range 154 andthe transmission power 156 associated with the third base station 118 inthe memory 108 as the third base station information. Further, in theparticular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the fourth base station 120includes a processor 158, a memory 160, a first antenna 162, and asecond antenna 164. A first transmission range and a first transmissionpower may be associated with the first antenna 162, and a secondtransmission range and a second transmission power may be associatedwith the second antenna 164. The server 104 may store the individualtransmission ranges 166 and the individual transmission powers 168associated with the first antenna 162 and the second antenna 164 of thefourth base station 120 in the memory 108 as the fourth base stationinformation. In some embodiments, as described previously with respectto the second base station 116, the fourth base station 120 may beconfigured to (dynamically) allocate a portion of network resources(that may be reserved for voice and/or data communications) totransmission of data responsive to data requests for data of a seconddata type (e.g., media content). While not shown in FIG. 1, the fourthbase station 120 may store the dynamically allocated network resourceallocation information in the memory 160. The fourth base station 120 isfurther configured to (dynamically) allocate another portion of thenetwork resources to transmission of data responsive to data requestsfor data of a first data type (e.g., voice and/or other non-mediacontent). While not shown in FIG. 1, the fourth base station 120 maystore the dynamically allocated network resource allocation informationin the memory 160.

In the particular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the fourth basestation 120 is configured to transmit data of the first data type (e.g.,voice and/or other non-media content) via the first antenna 162, and thefourth base station 120 is configured to transmit data of the seconddata type (e.g., media content) via the second antenna 164. The secondantenna 164 may transmit data of the second data type at a transmissionpower that is greater than a transmission power associated with thefirst antenna 162 transmitting data of the first data type. For example,the fourth base station 120 may transmit the data of the second datatype (e.g., media content) via the second antenna 164 at a transmissionpower at a maximum EIRP permitted by the FCC. Transmitting the data ofthe second data type at a higher transmission power may allow the fourthbase station 120 to provide media content to mobile devices that may beoutside a voice and/or data communications range associated with thefirst antenna 162. In some cases, a position of the second antenna 164may be located at a higher elevation than the first antenna 162. Thatis, the second antenna 164 may be mounted higher on a transmission towerassociated with the fourth base station 120 than the first antenna 162.Mounting the second antenna 164 higher on the transmission tower mayextend a range that the fourth base station 120 is able to provide dataof the second data type (e.g., multimedia data).

In some embodiments, the transmission power associated with the secondantenna 164 and/or the portion of the network resources allocated toproviding data of the second data type may be selected to reduceinterference with voice and/or data communications in other cells (e.g.,a cell associated with the third base station 118), as described furtherherein with respect to FIG. 2. For example, the first transmission powerand/or the portion of the network resources may be selected inaccordance with an intercell interference control scheme associated witha wireless communication standard (e.g., an LTE standard). Such aselection of the first transmission power and/or the portion of thenetwork resources may reduce degradation of voice and/or datacommunications in neighboring cells due to transmission of the mediacontent.

FIG. 1 further illustrates a particular example in which a first mobiledevice 170 and a second mobile device 172 may communicate with one ormore base stations of the wireless communication network 102. In otherembodiments, alternative numbers and/or types of mobile devices maycommunicate with base station(s) of the wireless communication network102. In the example of FIG. 1, the first mobile device 170 generates afirst data request 172 and sends the first data request 172 to the firstbase station 114. The first base station 114 is configured to sendinformation 174 associated with the first data request 172 to the server104.

The server 104 is configured to receive the information 174 associatedwith the first data request 172 and to receive location data 176 fromthe first base station 114. In some cases, the first base station 114may be configured to determine a location of the first mobile device 170and to provide the location information to the server 104 as thelocation data 176 (e.g., in conjunction with the information 174associated with the first data request 172). In other cases (asillustrated by the dashed lines of FIG. 1), the first mobile device 170may provide the location data 176 (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS)coordinates or other location identification information) to the firstbase station 114, and the first base station 114 may send the locationdata 176 received from the first mobile device 170 to the server 104.

The server 104 is configured to determine the location of the firstmobile device 170 based on the location data 176 and to select, usingthe base station selector 112, a particular base station to transmitdata 178 to the first mobile device 170 based on the first data request172 and based on the location of the first mobile device 170. The server104 is further configured to transmit the data 178 to the selected basestation. FIG. 1 illustrates a particular example in which the basestation selector 112 selects the second base station 116 to transmit thedata 178 to the first mobile device 170, and the server 104 transmitsthe data 178 to the second base station 116.

In a particular embodiment, the base station selector 112 may comparethe location of the first mobile device 170 to transmission range and/ortransmission power information that is stored in the memory 108 for theindividual base stations of the wireless communication network 102. Toillustrate, the base station selector 112 may compare the location ofthe first mobile device 170 to the transmission range 128 of the firstbase station 114, to the transmission ranges 140 of the first antenna136 and the second antenna 138 of the second base station 116, to thetransmission range 154 of the third base station 118, to thetransmission ranges 166 of the first antenna 162 and the second antenna164 of the fourth base station 120, or a combination thereof. The server104 may select the second base station 116 in response to determiningthat the first mobile device 170 is located within a particulartransmission range of the second antenna 138 of the second base station116.

In a particular embodiment, the server 104 may select the second basestation 116 based on a data type of data associated with the first datarequest 172. In the example of FIG. 1, the second base station 116 maybe associated with transmission of data of a particular data type (e.g.,media content). That is, the second base station 116 may represent acellular broadcast tower (CBT) of one or more CBTs of the wirelesscommunication network 102 that is capable of transmitting data at ahigher transmission power. In FIG. 1, the data type associated with dataof the first data request 172 is identified as a second data type (e.g.,media content). In some cases, the data 178 may include multimedia datacorresponding to broadcast media content or on-demand media content. Toillustrate, the multimedia data may include broadcast television contentthat may be received at the server 104 from a media provider. As anotherexample, on-demand media content may be stored at the server 104 (e.g.,in the memory 108) or may be accessible to the server 104 via one ormore networks. The data 178 may be transmitted from the second basestation 116 to the first mobile device 170 at a higher transmissionpower than other data (e.g., voice or other non-media content) that istransmitted from the first base station 116. To illustrate, the secondantenna 138 of the second base station 116 may transmit the data 178 tothe first mobile device 170 at a transmission power that is higher thanthe transmission power 130 of the antenna 126 of the first base station114.

The second base station 116 may allocate a first portion of the networkresources to transmission of data responsive to data requests for dataof a first data type (e.g., voice and/or data communications) and mayallocate a second portion of the network resources to transmission ofdata responsive to data requests for data of the second data type (e.g.,media content). The second base station 116 may allocate the firstportion of the network resources and the second portion of the networkresources on an “as-needed” basis. As an example, the second basestation 116 may allocate the first portion of the network resources andthe second portion of the network resources in response to determiningthat the requested data (i.e., the data 178) is associated with thesecond data type (e.g., media content). In a particular embodiment, thesecond base station 116 selects the first portion, the second portion, atransmission power associated with transmitting data associated with thefirst data type, a transmission power associated with transmitting dataassociated with the second data type, or a combination thereof, inaccordance with an intercell interference control scheme associated witha wireless communication protocol (e.g., an LTE protocol). In somecases, the second base station 116 may use orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM) to transmit data associated with the first data type(e.g., via the first antenna 136) and to transmit data (e.g., the data178) associated with the second data type (e.g., via the second antenna136).

In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the second base station 116 storesnetwork resource allocation information in the memory 134 as the firstnetwork resource allocation 144 and the second network resourceallocation 146. In some cases, the second antenna 138 of the second basestation 116 may also transmit the data 178 via a particular frequencyband that is outside of a frequency spectrum that is specified fordownlink communications. As an example, an RF spectrum (e.g., Band 29)may be designated for one-way communications. Another RF spectrum thatis designated for two-way communications (e.g., a low band spectrum suchas Band 5) may also be used, and surrounding cellular sites may besignaled to not use specific frequency bands so that media content maybe transmitted from a network node designated as a CBT (e.g., the secondbase station 116). FIG. 1 further illustrates that, in some cases, thedata 178 may include multi-user data, and the data 178 may betransmitted to the first mobile device 170 and to one or more othermobile devices (e.g., the second mobile device 172) via a multi-casttransmission from the second base station 116.

In the particular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the first mobiledevice 170 may send a second data request 180 to the first base station114. The server 104 may be configured to receive information 182associated with the second data request 180 (along with the locationdata 176) from the first base station 114. FIG. 1 illustrates an examplein which the base station selector 112 at the server 104 selects thefirst base station 114 to transmit second data 184 to the first mobiledevice 170 based on a determination that the second data request 180 andthe first data request 174 are associated with data of different datatypes. For example, the first data request 174 may be associated withmedia content (e.g., broadcast media content, on-demand media content,or a combination thereof), while the second data request 180 may beassociated with voice and/or data communications. As shown in FIG. 1,the server 104 may transmit the second data 184 to the first basestation 114, and the first base station 114 may transmit the second data184 to the first mobile device 170.

As another example, FIG. 1 illustrates that the second mobile device 172may send a data request 186 (e.g., for data of the second data type) tothe third base station 118. The server 104 may receive information 188associated with the data request 186 from the third base station 118.FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the base station selector 112 atthe server 104 selects the fourth base station 120 to transmit data 190to the second mobile device 172 based on the data request 186 and basedon a location of the second mobile device 172. In some cases, the fourthbase station 120 may be selected in response to the server 104determining that the location of the second mobile device 172 is outsideof a transmission range of the first antenna 162 of the fourth basestation 120 but within a transmission range of the second antenna 164 ofthe fourth base station 120. The server 104 may send data 190 to thefourth base station 120, and the fourth base station 120 may send thedata 190 to the second mobile device 172.

While not illustrated in FIG. 1, in some cases, the server 104 may beconfigured to receive updated location data associated with the firstmobile device 170 from another base station (e.g., a base station otherthan the first base station 114). As an illustrative, non-limitingexample, the first mobile device 170 may roam from a coverage areaassociated with the first base station 114 to a coverage area associatedwith the third base station 118. In this case, the third base station118 may determine updated location data for the first mobile device 170,or the first mobile device 170 may provide the updated location data tothe third base station 118. The third base station 118 may send theupdated location data to the server 104. Based on the updated locationdata, the base station selector 112 at the server 104 may select thefourth base station 120 to transmit the data 178 to the first mobiledevice 170. In response to selecting the fourth base station 120, theserver 104 may transmit the data 178 to the fourth base station 120 andmay terminate transmission of the data 178 to the second base station116.

Thus, FIG. 1 illustrates a system for selectively providing data tomobile device(s) of the wireless communication network 102 viaparticular base station(s) that are selected by the server 104 based ona particular data request and a location of a particular mobile device.In FIG. 1, a base station (e.g., a scheduler at the second base station116) may dynamically allocate a portion of network resources totransmission of data responsive to data requests for data of a firstdata type (e.g., voice and/or data communications) and another portionof the network resources to transmission of data responsive to datarequests for data of a second data type (e.g., media content). That is,FIG. 1 illustrates a network architecture that may adaptively respond torequests for media content by allocating a portion of network resourcesto servicing requests for the media content while retaining some networkresources for providing voice and/or data communications. The networkarchitecture may enable a service provider (e.g., a wirelesscommunications service provider) to efficiently use network resources toprovide media content to mobile devices and to provide voice and/or datacommunications to mobile devices.

FIG. 2 illustrates a particular embodiment of a system 200 forselectively providing data to mobile device(s) of a wireless network viaparticular base station(s) selected based on a particular data requestand a location of a particular mobile device. In FIG. 2, multiple basestations associated with a wireless network 202 are illustrated. Somebase stations of the wireless network 202 may include multiple antennasthat may have different transmission powers corresponding to differenttransmission ranges.

In the particular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the multiple basestations of the wireless network 202 include a first base station 210and a second base station 212. A first transmission range 214 may beassociated with one antenna of the first base station 210. Further, afirst transmission range 216 may be associated with one antenna of thesecond base station 212. FIG. 2 further illustrates other base stationsof the wireless network 202 that may be capable of providing voiceand/or data communications to mobile device(s) within a transmissionrange of the particular base station. In FIG. 2, the other base stationsinclude a third base station 220, a fourth base station 222, a fifthbase station 224, and a sixth base station 226. In other embodiments, analternative number and/or arrangement of base stations may be includedin the wireless network 202.

FIG. 2 further illustrates multiple mobile devices that may communicatevia one or more base stations of the wireless network 202. In theparticular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the multiple mobile devicesinclude a first mobile device 230, a second mobile device 232, a thirdmobile device 234, and a fourth mobile device 236. In other embodiments,an alternative number of mobile devices and/or locations of particularmobile devices may be included in the wireless network 202.

FIG. 2 illustrates one example in which the first mobile device 230sends a data request 240 to the third base station 220, the secondmobile device 232 sends a data request 242 to the fourth base station222, and the third mobile device 234 sends a data request 244 (e.g., fordata of a second data type) to the fifth base station 224. FIG. 2further illustrates that the fourth mobile device 236 may send a datarequest 246 (e.g., for data of a first data type) to the second basestation 212. In the example of FIG. 2, the first base station 210 isconfigured to send data 250 to the first mobile device 230 and to thesecond mobile device 232, while the second base station 212 isconfigured to send the data 290 to the third mobile device 234.

FIG. 2 further illustrates a particular embodiment in which the firstmobile device 230 may send location data 260 (e.g., Global PositioningSystem (GPS) coordinates) to the third base station 220. Alternatively,the third base station 220 may determine the location of the firstmobile device 230 (e.g., via triangulation). A server (not illustratedin FIG. 2) may be configured to select a base station to provide dataresponsive to a particular data request from a mobile device based atleast in part on information associated with the data request (e.g., atype of data that is requested, such as media content) and based on alocation of the mobile device.

FIG. 2 also illustrates that a second transmission range 270 may beassociated with another antenna of the first base station 210, and asecond transmission range 272 may be associated with another antenna ofthe second base station 212. Further, a single transmission range may beassociated with the other base stations of the example wireless network202 of FIG. 2. To illustrate, the third base station 220 may have atransmission range 274, the fourth base station 222 may have atransmission range 276, the fifth base station 224 may have atransmission range 278, and the sixth base station 226 may have atransmission range 280.

In operation, a user (e.g., a subscriber to the wireless network 202) atthe first mobile device 230 may request to receive media content (e.g.,television content) via the wireless network 202. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 2, the first mobile device 230 is located outside ofthe second transmission range 270 of the first base station 210 butwithin the transmission range 274 of the third base station 220. Thefirst mobile device 230 may send the data request 240 to the third basestation 220. The data request 240 may correspond to a request for mediacontent, and the first mobile device 230 may communicate the request formedia content to the third base station 220 via an uplink (UL) channelthat is used for providing voice and/or data communications via thethird base station 220. In a particular embodiment, the third basestation 220 may represent a “conventional” network node that isconfigured to provide voice and/or data communications, while the firstbase station 210 may represent a cellular broadcast tower (CBT) of thewireless network 202 that is designated as a network node to providemedia content to one or more mobile devices. Accordingly, informationassociated with the data request 240 may be forwarded from the thirdbase station 220 to the first base station 210 (e.g., via a server thatis not shown in FIG. 2, such as the server 104 of FIG. 1).

In response to receiving the information associated with the datarequest 240 (corresponding to a request for media content), the firstbase station 210 may allocate a portion (or an additional portion) ofnetwork resources to media content transmissions. For example, thewireless network 202 may operate using OFDM, and a particular group ofOFDM resource blocks may be reserved for performing voice and/or datacommunications via the wireless network 202. In this case, the firstbase station 210 may allocate a first portion of the network resources(e.g., a subset of the group of OFDM resource blocks) to media contenttransmissions instead of the voice and/or data communications. After theallocation, the first base station 210 may transmit data 250 (includingthe media content) to the first mobile device 230 via the first portionof the network resources that is dynamically allocated for media contenttransmissions. The first base station 210 may retain the remainingnetwork resources (e.g., a remainder of the OFDM resource blocks) to beused for providing voice and/or data communications, or for providingother content to other mobile devices. In some cases, the first mobiledevice 230 may receive the data 250 (including the media content) fromthe first base station 210 via a downlink (DL) channel that is used forproviding media content via the first base station 210.

In some cases, a transmission power (e.g., the transmission power totransmit the media content from the first base station 210 to mobiledevices within the first transmission range 214) and/or the portion ofthe network resources may be selected to reduce interference with voiceand/or data communications in other cells (e.g., cells associated withthe second base station 220 and the third base station 222). Forexample, the first transmission power and/or the portion of the networkresources may be selected in accordance with an intercell interferencecontrol scheme associated with a wireless communication standard (e.g.,an LTE standard). For example, network nodes in an LTE network areconfigured to reduce interference in accordance with an ICIC scheme oran eICIC scheme, and the network node (e.g., the first base station 210in this example) may select the transmission power and/or the portion ofthe network resources in accordance with these preprogrammed ICIC oreICIC schemes. Such a selection of the first transmission power and/orthe portion of the network resources may reduce degradation of voiceand/or data communications in neighboring cells (e.g., the cellsassociated with the second base station 220 and the third base station222) due to transmission of the media content. Additionally, the portionof the network resources may correspond to a set of LTE resource blocks.

In the particular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the first mobiledevice 230 may send a termination message 282 to the first base station210 (e.g., after a media player at the first mobile device 230determines that media content is no longer being displayed). Responsiveto receiving the termination message 282, the first base station 210 mayterminate transmission of the media content and may de-allocate theportion of the network resources that was previously allocated for mediacontent transmissions (e.g., the second portion) and re-allocate theportion of the network resources to providing voice and/or datacommunications. In this manner, network resources may be used fortransmitting the media content on an “as-needed” basis, and networkresources may be re-allocated to providing voice and/or datacommunications when the media content is no longer being requested.

In a particular embodiment, a network node of the wireless network 202(e.g., the first base station 210) may not provide the media contentuntil a particular number of mobile devices have requested the mediacontent. For example, the first base station 210 may receive multiplerequests for the media content from multiple mobile devices, and when acount of the multiple mobile devices exceeds a threshold value, thefirst base station 210 may provide the media content to the multiplemobile devices. FIG. 2 illustrates one example in which the multipledevices requesting the media content include the first mobile device 230and the second mobile device 232. Alternatively, more than two mobiledevices may request the media content.

In a particular embodiment, a server (not shown in FIG. 2, but see e.g.,the server 104 of FIG. 1) may receive information associated withmultiple data requests from multiple base stations. The multiple datarequests may originate at multiple mobile devices. To illustrate, themultiple data requests may correspond to the data request 240 from thefirst mobile device 130, the data request 242 from the second mobiledevice 232, and the data request 244 from the third mobile device 234.The server may determine a count of a group of mobile devices to receivedata from a particular base station (e.g., the first base station 210 inFIG. 2) based on the multiple data requests and locations of themultiple mobile devices. For example, referring to FIG. 2, the servermay determine that the count of the group of mobile devices to receivethe data 250 from the first base station 210 corresponds to two mobiledevices (i.e., the first mobile device 230 and the second mobile device232). The data request 244 from the third mobile device 234 may beexcluded from the count, as the location of the third mobile device 234corresponds to a location that is outside of the first transmissionrange 214 of the first base station 210. The server may transmit aninstruction to the first base station 210 to initiate transmission ofthe data 250 to the group of mobile devices (i.e., the first mobiledevice 230 and the second mobile device 232) when the count exceeds athreshold. FIG. 2 illustrates an example in which the first base station210 transmits the data 250 to the first mobile device 230 and the secondmobile device 232 (e.g., based on the count of two devices).Alternatively, the threshold may correspond to an alternative number ofdevices that are requesting the data 250 from the first base station210, and the server may not transmit the instruction to initiatetransmission of the data 250 until the count satisfies the threshold.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the second mobile device 232 islocated outside of the second transmission range 270 of the first basestation 210 but within the transmission range 276 of the fourth basestation 222. As such, the second mobile device 232 may send the datarequest 242 (corresponding to a request for the media content) to thefourth base station 222 (e.g., via an uplink channel that is used forproviding voice and/or data communications via the fourth base station222). In a particular embodiment, the fourth base station 222 mayrepresent another “conventional” network node of the wireless network202 that is configured to provide voice and/or data communications.Accordingly, information associated with the data request 242 may beforwarded from the fourth base station 222 to the first base station 210(e.g., via a server that is not shown in FIG. 2, such as the server 104of FIG. 1).

Thus, FIG. 2 illustrates one example in which the first base station 210receives two requests for the media content (i.e., the data request 240from the first mobile device 230 and the data request 242 from thesecond mobile device 232). In response, the first base station 210 maydetermine whether the count of mobile devices requesting the mediacontent (i.e., two in this example) satisfies a threshold. When thefirst base station 210 determines that the number of mobile devicesrequesting the media content exceeds the threshold, the first basestation 210 may determine that the media content is to be provided tothe multiple mobile devices (i.e., the first mobile device 230 and thesecond mobile device 232 in this example). In response to determiningthat the threshold is satisfied, the first base station 210 may allocatea portion of network resources to media content transmissions. Forexample, the first base station 210 may allocate a portion of networkresources (e.g., a subset of OFDM resource blocks) to media contenttransmissions instead of providing the voice and/or data communications.After the allocation, the first base station 210 may transmit the data250 (including the media content) to the first mobile device 230 and tothe second mobile device 232 via the portion of the network resourcesthat is dynamically allocated for media content transmissions. The firstbase station 210 may retain the remaining network resources (e.g., aremainder of the OFDM resource blocks) to be used for providing voiceand/or data communications, or for providing other content to othermobile devices. In some cases, the first mobile device 230 and thesecond mobile device 232 may receive the data 250 (including the mediacontent) from the first base station 210 via a downlink channel that isused for providing media content via the first base station 210.

FIG. 2 illustrates that the first mobile device 230 may send thetermination message 282 to the first base station 210. FIG. 2 furtherillustrates a particular example in which a subscriber at the secondmobile device 232 may be still be viewing the media content.Accordingly, the second mobile device 232 may not have transmitted atermination message to the first base station 210. In this case, thefirst base station 210 may wait to receive the termination message fromthe second mobile device 232 before de-allocating the portion of thenetwork resources for media content transmissions and re-allocating theportion of the network resources to providing voice and/or datacommunications. In this manner, network resources may be used fortransmitting the media content on an “as-needed” basis, and networkresources may be re-allocated when the network node (i.e., the firstbase station 210 in this case) determines that multiple subscribers areno longer requesting the media content (e.g., in response to receivingtermination messages from each of the multiple subscribers).

FIG. 2 further illustrates that the wireless network 202 may includemultiple CBTs that are designated as network nodes to provide mediacontent to one or more mobile devices. In the example of FIG. 2, thesecond base station 212 may represent another CBT in addition to thefirst base station 210. In other cases, the wireless network 202 mayinclude an alternative number and/or arrangement of network nodes thatmay be designated as CBTs to provide media content. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 2, the fifth base station 224 and the sixth basestation 226 may represent other “conventional” network nodes that areconfigured to provide voice and/or data communications.

In FIG. 2, a user (e.g., a subscriber to the wireless network 202) atthe third mobile device 234 may desire to receive media content (e.g.,television content) via the wireless network 202. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 2, the third mobile device 234 is located outside ofthe second transmission range 272 of the second base station 212 butwithin the transmission range 278 of the fifth base station 224. Thethird mobile device 234 may send the data request 244 (e.g., a requestfor media content) to the fifth base station 224. For example, the thirdmobile device 234 may communicate the data request 244 to the fifth basestation 224 via an uplink channel that is used for providing voiceand/or data communications via the fifth base station 224. As the fifthbase station 224 represents a “conventional” network node in the exampleof FIG. 2, information associated with the data request 244 may beforwarded from the fifth base station 224 to the second base station 212(e.g., via a server that is not shown in FIG. 2, such as the server 104of FIG. 1).

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 the second base station 212 mayreceive one request for the media content from a single mobile device(i.e., the data request 244 from the third mobile device 234). Thesecond base station 212 may represent one or more CBTs of the wirelessnetwork 202 that may provide media content to mobile device(s) withoutdetermining whether a number of mobile devices requesting the mediacontent satisfies a threshold. In response to receiving the informationassociated with the data request 244 (corresponding to a request formedia content), the second base station 212 may allocate a portion ofnetwork resources to media content transmissions. After the allocation,the second base station 212 may transmit data 290 (including the mediacontent) to the third mobile device 234 via the portion of the networkresources that is dynamically allocated for media content transmissions.The second base station 212 may retain the remaining network resourcesto be used for providing voice and/or data communications, or forproviding other content to other mobile devices. In some cases, thethird mobile device 234 may receive the data 290 (including the mediacontent) from the second base station 212 via a downlink channel that isused for providing media content via the second base station 212.

In some cases, a transmission power (e.g., the transmission power totransmit the media content from the first base station 212 to mobiledevices within the first transmission range 216) and/or the portion ofthe network resources may be selected to reduce interference with voiceand/or data communications in other cells (e.g., cells associated withthe fifth base station 224 and the sixth base station 226). For example,the transmission power and/or the portion of the network resources maybe selected in accordance with an intercell interference control schemeassociated with a wireless communication standard (e.g., an LTEstandard). For example, network nodes in an LTE network are configuredto reduce interference in accordance with an ICIC scheme or an eICICscheme, and the network node (e.g., the second base station 212 in thisexample) may select the transmission power and/or the portion of thenetwork resources in accordance with these preprogrammed ICIC or eICICschemes. Such a selection of the transmission power and/or the portionof the network resources may reduce degradation of voice and/or datacommunications in neighboring cells (e.g., the cells associated with thefifth base station 224 and the sixth base station 226) due totransmission of the media content. Additionally, the portion of thenetwork resources may correspond to a set of LTE resource blocks.

FIG. 2 illustrates that the third mobile device 234 may send atermination message 292 to the second base station 212. In response toreceiving the termination message 292, the second base station 212 mayde-allocate the portion of the network resources for media contenttransmissions and re-allocate the portion of the network resources toproviding voice and/or data communications. In this manner, networkresources may be used for transmitting the media content on an“as-needed” basis, and network resources may be re-allocated when thenetwork node (i.e., the second base station 212 in this case) determinesthat subscriber(s) are no longer viewing the media content.

FIG. 2 also illustrates that a user (e.g., a subscriber to the wirelessnetwork 202) at the fourth mobile device 236 may request to utilize thewireless network 202 for voice and/or data communications. Toillustrate, the fourth mobile device 236 may transmit the data request246 to the second base station 212. The second base station 212 mayreceive the data request 246 from the fourth mobile device 236 via afirst antenna. The second base station 212 may transmit data 294 to thefourth mobile device 236. As such, the second base station 212 isconfigured to receive a data request (e.g., the data request 246) fordata of a first data type (e.g., non-media content) via a first antennaand to transmit data responsive to the data request 246 via the firstantenna. The second base station 212 is further configured to receivesecond data (e.g., from a server) that is associated with a second datarequest originated by a second mobile device (e.g., the data request 244transmitted from the third mobile device 234 to the fifth base station224). The second base station 212 may transmit the data 290 to the thirdmobile device 234 via a second antenna.

Thus, FIG. 2 illustrates a system for selectively providing data tomobile device(s) of the wireless network 202 via particular basestation(s) selected based on a particular data request and a location ofa particular mobile device. In the wireless network 202 illustrated inFIG. 2, the first base station 210 and the second base station 212represent CBTs that are designated as network nodes to provide mediacontent to one or more mobile devices. The CBTs may selectively allocateor de-allocate a portion of network resources to media contenttransmissions on an “as needed” basis. The CBTs may retain the remainingnetwork resources to be used for providing voice and/or datacommunications (e.g., for providing the data 294 to the fourth mobiledevice 236), or for providing other content to other mobile devices.

FIG. 3 illustrates a particular embodiment of a method 300 for selectinga base station to transmit data to a mobile device based on a datarequest and a location of the mobile device. In FIG. 3, the mobiledevice may send a data request to a first base station, and the firstbase station may send information associated with the data request to aserver. The server may select a second base station to transmit data tothe mobile device based on the data request and based on a location ofthe mobile device.

The method 300 includes receiving, at a server of a wirelesscommunication network, information from a first base station, at 302.The information is associated with a first data request that is receivedat the first base station from a first mobile device. As one example,referring to FIG. 1, the server 104 may receive the information 174associated with the first data request 172 from the first base station114. The first data request 172 may be received at the first basestation 114 from the first mobile device 170. As another example,referring to FIG. 2, information associated with the data request 240may be received at the third base station 220 from the first mobiledevice 230. As a further example, referring to FIG. 2, informationassociated with the data request 242 may be received at the fourth basestation 222 from the second mobile device 232. As another example,referring to FIG. 2, information associated with the data request 244may be received at the fifth base station 224 from the third mobiledevice 234.

In some embodiments, the server may receive location data associatedwith the mobile device from the base station that received the datarequest. As an example, referring to FIG. 1, the server 104 may receivethe location data 176 from the first base station 114. FIG. 1 furtherillustrates that, in some cases, the first base station 114 may receivethe location data 176 from the first mobile device 170. Alternatively,the first base station 114 may estimate a location of the first mobiledevice 170 (e.g., using triangulation) and may provide the estimatedlocation to the server 104 as the location data 176. The server 104 maydetermine the location of the first mobile device 170 based on thelocation data 176. FIG. 2 illustrates another example in which the firstmobile device 230 provides the location data 260 to the third basestation 220. In this case, the third base station 220 may provide thelocation data 260 to a server (not shown in FIG. 2), and the server maydetermine the location of the first mobile device 230 based on thelocation data 260.

The method 300 includes selecting a second base station to transmit dataresponsive to the data request to the first mobile device based on adata type of the data and based on a location of the first mobiledevice, at 304. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the server 104 mayselect the second base station 116 to transmit the data 178 to the firstmobile device 170 responsive to the first data request 172 based on thedata type (e.g., the second data type) of the data 178 and based on thelocation of the first mobile device 170. As another example, referringto FIG. 2, the first mobile device 230 transmits the data request 240 tothe third base station 220, the second mobile device 232 transmits thedata request 242 to the fourth base station 222, and the third mobiledevice 234 transmits the data request 244 to the fifth base station 224.A server (not shown in FIG. 2) may select the first base station 210 totransmit the data 250 to the first mobile device 230 (responsive to thedata request 240) and to transmit the data 250 to the second mobiledevice 232 (responsive to the data request 242). Further, the server mayselect the second base station 212 to transmit the data 290 to the thirdmobile device 234 (responsive to the data request 244).

The method 300 includes transmitting the data from the server to thesecond base station, at 306. For example, referring to FIG. 1, theserver 104 may transmit the data 178 to the second base station 116.FIG. 1 further illustrates that the second base station 116 may transmitthe data 178 to the first mobile device 170. As another example,referring to FIG. 2, a server (not shown in FIG. 2) may transmit thedata 250 to the first base station 210, and the first base station 210may transmit the data 250 to the first mobile device 232 and to thesecond mobile device 232 (e.g., via a downlink channel). As a furtherexample, referring to FIG. 2, a server (not shown in FIG. 2) maytransmit the data 290 to the second base station 212, and the secondbase station 212 may transmit the data 290 to the third mobile device234 (e.g., via a downlink channel).

Thus, FIG. 3 illustrates that a mobile device may send a data request(e.g., a request for media content) to one base station, and a servermay select an alternative base station for transmitting data (e.g., themedia content) to the mobile device. The alternative base station mayrepresent a CBT that is designated to provide multimedia content tomobile device(s) of a wireless communication network.

Referring to FIG. 4, a particular embodiment of a method for selecting aparticular antenna of a base station to be used to transmit data to amobile device based on a data type of data associated with a datarequest from the mobile device is illustrated and generally designated400. In the example of FIG. 4, different portions of available networkresources (e.g., LTE resource blocks) may be allocated to transmissionof data (e.g., in response to data requests for data of different datatypes). One antenna of the base station may be selected for transmittingdata of one data type, while another antenna of the base station may beselected for transmitting data of another data type.

The method 400 includes receiving a first data request at a basestation, at 402. The first data request is received from a first mobiledevice via a first antenna of the base station. In some embodiments, thefirst data request may be associated with data of a first data type(e.g., a request for voice or non-media content). For example, referringto FIG. 2, the second base station 112 may receive the data request 246from the fourth mobile device 236 via a first antenna of the second basestation 112. The data request 246 may represent a request to utilize thewireless network 202 for voice and/or data communications.

The method 400 further includes transmitting first data to the firstmobile device via the first antenna based on the first data request, at404. For example, referring to FIG. 2, the second base station 212 maytransmit the data 294 to the fourth mobile device 236 via the firstantenna based on the data request 246.

The method 400 includes receiving, at the base station, second data froma server, at 406. The second data is associated with a second datarequest originated by a second mobile device, and information associatedwith the second data request is received by the server from a differentbase station. In some embodiments, the second data request may beassociated with data of the second data type (e.g., a request for mediacontent). For example, referring to FIG. 2, the second base station 212may receive data from a server (not shown in FIG. 2, see e.g., theserver 104 of FIG. 1) that is associated with the data request 244. Thedata request 244 is originated by the third mobile device 234 andtransmitted to the fifth base station 224. The data request 244 may beforwarded from the fifth base station 224 to the server to be providedto the second base station 212. For example, the data request 244 maycorrespond to a request for media content.

The method 400 may (optionally) include allocating a first portion ofnetwork resources to transmission of data responsive to data requestsfor data of a first data type, at 408. For example, referring to FIG. 2,the second base station 116 may allocate a first portion of networkresources to transmission of data responsive to data requests for dataof a first data type. To illustrate, the second base station 116 mayallocate the first portion of the network resources for transmission ofdata (e.g., the data 294) responsive to data requests (e.g., the datarequest 246) that may represent requests to utilize the wireless network202 for voice and/or data communications.

The method 400 may (optionally) include allocating a second portion ofthe network resources to transmission of data responsive to datarequests for data of a second data type, at 410. For example, referringto FIG. 2, the second base station 116 may allocate a second portion ofthe network resources to transmission of data responsive to datarequests for data of a second data type. To illustrate, the second basestation 116 may allocate the second portion of the network resources fortransmission of data (e.g., the data 290) responsive to data requests(e.g., the data request 244) that may represent requests for mediacontent.

The method 400 also includes transmitting second data from the basestation to the second mobile device via a second antenna of the basestation, at 412. For example, referring to FIG. 2, the second basestation 212 may utilize a second antenna to transmit the data 290 to thethird mobile device 234 (e.g., via a downlink channel).

Thus, FIG. 4 illustrates that a base station may include multipleantennas, and a particular antenna to be used for transmitting data to amobile device may be determined based on a particular data request(e.g., whether the data request is associated with multimedia content).In response to receiving a data request for data of a particular datatype (e.g., a request for media content), the base station maydynamically allocate a portion of network resources (reserved forperforming voice and/or data communications) for transmitting data(e.g., media content) to mobile device(s) of a wireless network.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, a particular embodiment of a method forselecting a cellular broadcast tower (CBT) to transmit data to a mobiledevice (e.g., when a number of data requests that have been receivedexceeds a threshold) is illustrated and generally designated 500. Forexample, the data requested by the mobile device may include mediacontent (e.g., broadcast media content, on-demand media content, etc.).FIGS. 5A and 5B further illustrate that a server may transmit the datato the selected CBT, and the CBT may transmit the data to the mobiledevice at a higher transmission power than a voice or data transmissionto the mobile device. In response to receiving an indication that mobiledevice(s) are no longer receiving data from the CBT, the CBT mayterminate transmission of the data.

The method 500 includes receiving a data request from a mobile device ata base station, at 502. For example, referring to FIG. 2, the third basestation 220 may receive the data request 240 from the first mobiledevice 230. The method 500 includes determining whether the data requestis associated with data of a second data type (e.g., media content), at504. For example, referring to FIG. 2, the third base station 220 maydetermine whether the data request 240 is associated with a request formedia content.

In response to determining that the data request is not associated withdata of the second data type (e.g., the data request is associated withvoice and/or non-media content), the method 500 includes transmittingrequested data from the base station to the mobile device, at 506. Inresponse to determining that the data request is associated with data ofthe second data type, the method 500 includes transmitting informationassociated with the data request (and location information associatedwith the mobile device) from the base station to a server, at 508. Forexample, referring to FIG. 2, the third base station 220 may transmitinformation associated with the data request 240 and the location data260 associated with a location of the first mobile device 230 to aserver (not shown in FIG. 2, see e.g., the server 104 of FIG. 1).

The method 500 includes determining a number of data requests that havebeen received at the server, at 510. The method 500 includes determiningwhether the number of data requests exceeds a threshold, at 512. Inresponse to determining that the number of data requests does not exceedthe threshold, the method 500 may return to 502, where the base stationmay wait to receive another data request from one or more other mobiledevices. In response to determining that the number of data requestsexceeds the threshold, the method 500 includes selecting a cellularbroadcast tower (CBT) to transmit data to the mobile device, at 514. Forexample, referring to FIG. 2, the number of data requests may correspondto the data request 240 from the first mobile device 230 and the datarequest 242 from the second mobile device 242 (i.e., two data requestsin this case). FIG. 2 illustrates an example in which the data tworequests may satisfy a threshold for transmitting media content (e.g.,the data 250). As such, the first base station 210 may be selected asthe CBT to transmit the data 250 to the first mobile device 230 and tothe second mobile device 232.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the method 500 proceeds from selecting the CBT (at514 in FIG. 5A) to transmitting the data from the server to the CBT, at516. The method 500 includes transmitting the data from the CBT to themobile device, at 518. The data is transmitted at a higher transmissionpower than a voice or data transmission from the base station to themobile device. For example, referring to FIG. 2, the first base station210 may receive the data 250 from a server (not shown in FIG. 2, seee.g., the server 104 of FIG. 1) and may transmit the data 250 to thefirst mobile device 230 and to the second mobile device 232. Asillustrated in FIG. 2, a transmission power associated with transmittingthe data 250 from the first base station 210 may allow the first basestation to transmit the data 250 to mobile device(s) within the firsttransmission range 214. By contrast, a transmission power associatedwith voice and/or data transmission from the first base station 210 maybe associated with the second transmission range 270 (i.e., a reducedtransmission range with respect to the first transmission range 214).

In some embodiments, the method 500 also includes transmitting the datafrom the server to other CBTs, at 520. The data may be transmitted fromthe CBT and/or the other CBTs to other mobile devices. For example,while not shown in FIG. 2, the first base station 210 may represent oneCBT of the wireless network 202, and the second base station 212 mayrepresent another CBT of the wireless network 202. As such, in somecases, the server may transmit the data 250 to the first base station210 and to the second base station 212.

The method 500 includes the mobile device stopping receiving the datafrom the CBT, at 522. For example, referring to FIG. 2, the first mobiledevice 230 may transmit the termination message 282 to the first basestation 210 to indicate that a subscriber is no longer viewing the mediacontent. The method 500 includes determining whether any mobile devicesare receiving the data from the CBT, at 524. For example, referring toFIG. 2, the second mobile device 232 has not yet sent a terminationmessage to the first base station 210 to indicate that a subscriber isno longer viewing the media content.

In response to determining that other mobile devices are receiving thedata from the CBT, the method 500 includes continuing to transmit thedata from the CBT to remaining mobile devices, at 526. For example,referring to FIG. 2, the first base station 210 may determine, based onthe lack of a termination message from the second mobile device 232,that the second mobile device 232 is still receiving the data 250 fromthe first base station 210. As such, the first base station 210 maycontinue to transmit the data 250 to the second mobile device 232.

In response to determining that no mobile devices are receiving the datafrom the CBT, the method 500 includes terminating transmission of thedata from the CBT, at 528. For example, referring to FIG. 2, the firstbase station 210 may determine that the first mobile device 230 and thesecond mobile device 232 are no longer receiving the data 250 inresponse to receiving the termination message 282 from the first mobiledevice 230 and a termination message (not shown in FIG. 2) from thesecond mobile device 233. The method 500 ends at 530.

Thus, FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate that a CBT of a wireless network may beselected to transmit data (e.g., media content) to one or more mobiledevices (e.g., when a number of data requests that have been receivedexceeds a threshold). Further, the CBT may continue to transmit the datato the mobile device(s) until the CBT determines that no mobiledevice(s) are receiving the data (e.g., based on whether a terminationmessage has been received from each mobile device). Network resourcesmay be reserved for providing voice and/or data communications until thethreshold is satisfied and may be selectively allocated to providingmedia content transmissions while mobile device(s) continue to receivethe media content.

Referring to FIG. 6, an illustrative embodiment of a general computersystem is shown and is designated 600. The computer system 600 includesa set of instructions that can be executed to cause the computer system600 to perform any one or more of the methods or computer basedfunctions disclosed herein. The computer system 600 may operate as astandalone device or may be connected, e.g., using a network, to othercomputer systems or peripheral devices. For example, the computer system600 may include or be included within any one or more of the server 110,the base stations 120, 130, 140, 150, or combinations thereof describedwith reference to FIG. 1. As another example, the computer system 600may include or be included within any one or more of a server (not shownin FIG. 2), the base stations 210, 212, 220, 222, 226, or combinationsthereof described with reference to FIG. 2.

In a networked deployment, the computer system 600 may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 600 may alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as a mobiledevice, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, acommunications device, a wireless telephone, a personal computer (PC), atablet PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an endpoint device, a webappliance, or any other machine capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that machine. In a particular embodiment, the computer system 600 maybe implemented using electronic devices that provide video, audio, ordata communication. Further, while a single computer system 600 isillustrated, the term “system” shall also be taken to include anycollection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointlyexecute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or morecomputer functions.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the computer system 600 may include aprocessor 602, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both. For example, the processor 602 mayinclude or correspond to the processor 106 of the server 104, theprocessor 122 of the first base station 114, the processor 132 of thesecond base station 116, the processor 148 of the third base station118, or the processor 158 of the fourth base station 120 illustrated inFIG. 1. As another example, while not illustrated in FIG. 2, theprocessor 602 may include or correspond to a processor of a server or aprocessor of the base stations 210, 212, 220, 222, 224, 226. Moreover,the computer system 600 may include a main memory 604 and a staticmemory 606, which can communicate with each other via a bus 608. Forexample, the main memory 604 may include or correspond to the memory 108of the server 104, the memory 124 of the first base station 114, thememory 134 of the second base station 116, the memory 150 of the thirdbase station 118, or the memory 160 of the fourth base station 120illustrated in FIG. 1. As another example, while not illustrated in FIG.2, the main memory 604 may include or correspond to a memory of a serveror a processor of the base stations 210, 212, 220, 222, 224, 226. Asshown, the computer system 600 may further include a video display unit610, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode(LED) display, a touch screen display, a flat panel display, or a solidstate display. Additionally, the computer system 600 may include aninput device 612, such as a remote control device or a keyboard, and acursor control device 614, such as a mouse. In some embodiments, theinput device 612 and the cursor control device 614 may be integratedinto a single device, such as a capacitive touch screen input device.The computer system 600 may also include a signal generation device 618,such as a speaker, and a network interface device 620. Some computersystems 600 may not include an input device (e.g., a server may notinclude an input device).

In a particular embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 6, the device 600 mayinclude computer-readable storage 622 in which one or more sets ofinstructions 624, e.g. software, can be embedded. The computer-readablestorage 622 may be random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM),programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM),electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), register(s), solid-state memory,hard disk, a removable disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM),other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, magnetic storagedevices, or any other storage device that can be used to store programcode in the form of instructions or data and that can be accessed by acomputer and/or a processor. Computer-readable storage is not a signal.Further, the instructions 624 may embody one or more of the methods orlogic as described herein. When the device 600 corresponds to a server,FIG. 6 illustrates that the instructions 624 may include data, basestation transmission range/power information, and other instructions.For example, referring to the server 104 of FIG. 1, the instructions 624may include the data 110, the base station selector 112, and theinformation associated with a plurality of base stations. For example,in the example of FIG. 1, information associated with the first basestation 120 may include the transmission range(s) 128 and thetransmission power(s) 130, information associated with the second basestation 130 may include the transmission range(s) 140 and thetransmission power(s) 142, information associated with the third basestation 140 may include the transmission range(s) 154 and thetransmission power(s) 156, and the information associated with thefourth base station 150 may include the transmission range(s) 166 andthe transmission power(s) 168. The instructions 624 may be executable bythe processor 602 to perform one or more functions or methods describedherein, such as the methods 300, 400, or 500 described with reference toFIG. 3, 4, or 5A-5B, respectively. In a particular embodiment, theinstructions 624 may reside completely, or at least partially, withinthe main memory 604, the static memory 606, and/or within the processor602 during execution by the computer system 600. The main memory 604 andthe processor 602 also may include a computer-readable storage device.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, may be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Various embodiments may include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).Accordingly, the present system encompasses software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system, a processor, or a device, which mayinclude forms of instructions embodied as a state machine implementedwith logic components in an ASIC or a field programmable gate array(FPGA) device. Further, in an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment,implementations may include distributed processing, component/objectdistributed processing, and parallel processing. Alternatively, virtualcomputer system processing may be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods or functionality as described herein. It is further notedthat a computing device, such as a processor, a controller, a statemachine or other suitable device for executing instructions to performoperations may perform such operations directly or indirectly by way ofone or more intermediate devices directed by the computing device.

The present disclosure includes computer-readable storage 622 thatstores instructions 624, so that a device connected to a network 628 maycommunicate voice, video or data over the network 628. While thecomputer-readable storage 622 is shown to be a single device, thecomputer-readable storage 622 may include a single device or multipledevices, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers that store one or more sets ofinstructions. The computer-readable storage 622 is capable of storing aset of instructions for execution by a processor to cause a computersystem to perform any one or more of the methods or operations disclosedherein. For example, the computer-readable storage device 622 may storeinstructions for execution by a processor to cause a computer system toperform any one or more of the methods 300, 400, or 500 described withreference to FIG. 3, 4, or 5A-5B, respectively.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable storage 622 may include a solid-state memory such asembedded memory (or a memory card or other package that houses one ormore non-volatile read-only memories). Further, the computer-readablestorage 622 may be a random access memory or other volatile re-writablememory. Additionally, the computer-readable storage 622 may include amagneto-optical or optical device, such as a disk or tapes or otherstorage device. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include anyone or more of a computer-readable storage device and other equivalentsand successor devices, in which data or instructions may be stored.

FIG. 6 further illustrates that the device 600 may include one or moreantennas (e.g., when the device 600 corresponds to a base station). Inthe example of FIG. 6, the device 600 includes a first antenna 632 andmay also include a second antenna 634. For example, the first antenna632 may correspond to the antenna 126 of the first base station 116 ofFIG. 1, the first antenna 136 of the second base station 116 of FIG. 1,the antenna 152 of the third base station 118 of FIG. 1, or the firstantenna 162 of the fourth base station 120 of FIG. 1. As anotherexample, the second antenna 634 may correspond to the second antenna 138of the second base station 116 of FIG. 1 or the second antenna 164 ofthe fourth base station 120 of FIG. 1. Further, while not illustrated inFIG. 2, each of the base stations 210, 212, 220, 222, 224, and 226 mayinclude one or more antennas. For example, the first base station 210and the second base station 212 may correspond to CBTs of the wirelessnetwork 202 and may include two antennas. As another example, the otherbase stations 220, 222, 224, 226 may represent “conventional” basestations and may include one antenna.

Although the one or more components and functions may be describedherein as being implemented with reference to particular standards orprotocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Such standards are from time-to-time superseded by faster ormore efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions.Wireless standards for device detection, short-range communications, andlong-range communications can be used by the computer system 600 inselected embodiments.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Figuresare also merely representational and may not be drawn to scale.Accordingly, the disclosure and the figures are to be regarded asillustrative rather than restrictive.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.

Less than all of the steps or functions described with respect to theexemplary processes or methods can also be performed in one or more ofthe exemplary embodiments. Further, the use of numerical terms todescribe a device, component, step or function, such as first, second,third, and so forth, is not intended to describe an order unlessexpressly stated. The use of the terms first, second, third and soforth, is generally to distinguish between devices, components, steps orfunctions unless expressly stated otherwise. Additionally, one or moredevices or components described with respect to the exemplaryembodiments can facilitate one or more functions, where the facilitating(e.g., facilitating access or facilitating establishing a connection)can include less than every step needed to perform the function or caninclude all of the steps needed to perform the function.

In one or more embodiments, a processor (which can include a controlleror circuit) has been described that performs various functions. Itshould be understood that the processor can be implemented as multipleprocessors, which can include distributed processors or parallelprocessors in a single machine or multiple machines. The processor canbe used in supporting a virtual processing environment. The virtualprocessing environment may support one or more virtual machinesrepresenting computers, servers, or other computing devices. In suchvirtual machines (e.g., virtual servers), components such asmicroprocessors and storage devices may be virtualized or logicallyrepresented. The processor can include a state machine, an applicationspecific integrated circuit, and/or a programmable gate array (PGA)including a FPGA. In one or more embodiments, when a processor executesinstructions to perform “operations”, this can include the processorperforming the operations directly and/or facilitating, directing, orcooperating with another device or component to perform the operations.

The Abstract is provided with the understanding that it will not be usedto interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition,in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may be groupedtogether or described in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed toless than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments. Thus,the following claims are incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as defining separately claimedsubject matter.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximum extent allowedby law, the scope of the present disclosure is to be determined by thebroadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and theirequivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoingdetailed description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, at a base stationfrom a first mobile device, a first data request associated with firstdata of a first data type; based on the first data type of the firstdata, transmitting the first data to the first mobile device from thebase station; receiving, at the base station from a server, second data,wherein the second data has a second data type different than the firstdata type, wherein the second data is associated with a second datarequest originated by a second mobile device different than the firstmobile device, and wherein information associated with the second datarequest is received by the server from a different base station and sentto the base station based on the second data type of the second data;and transmitting the second data to the second mobile device.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: allocating a first portion ofresources of the base station to transmission of data responsive to datarequests for data of the first data type; and allocating a secondportion of the resources of the base station to transmission of dataresponsive to data requests for data of the second data type.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising selecting the first portion, thesecond portion, a first transmission power associated with transmittingthe first data, a second transmission power associated with transmittingthe second data, or a combination thereof, in accordance with anintercell interference control scheme associated with a wirelesscommunication protocol.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the wirelesscommunication protocol is a long-term evolution protocol.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein the transmitting the first data includes using afirst antenna to transmit the first data, and wherein the transmittingsecond data includes using a second antenna different than the firstantenna.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein a transmission powerassociated with the second antenna transmitting the second data isgreater than a transmission power associated with the first antennatransmitting the first data.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein thesecond antenna is at a higher elevation than the first antenna.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the second data type includes multimediacontent.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first data type includesvoice communications and data communications.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein at least a portion of the second data is transmitted via aparticular frequency band outside of a frequency spectrum specified fordownlink communications.
 11. A base station comprising: a processor; anda memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that,when executed by the processor, cause the processor to performoperations including: receiving a first data request from a first mobiledevice, the first data request associated with first data of a firstdata type; based on the first data type of the first data, transmittingthe first data to the first mobile device; receiving second data from aserver, the second data having a second data type different than thefirst data type, wherein the second data is associated with a seconddata request originated by a second mobile device, and whereininformation associated with the second data request is received by theserver from a different base station and sent to the processor based onthe second data type of the second data; and transmitting the seconddata to the second mobile device.
 12. The base station of claim 11,wherein the transmitting the first data comprises utilizing a firstantenna, and wherein the transmitting the second data comprisesutilizing a second antenna different than the first antenna.
 13. Thebase station of claim 12, wherein the second antenna is at a higheraltitude than the first antenna.
 14. The base station of claim 12,wherein a first transmission power for transmission of the second datais greater than a second transmission power for transmission of thefirst data.
 15. The base station of claim 11, wherein the first data andthe second data are transmitted via orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing, and wherein at least a portion of the second data istransmitted via a frequency band outside of a frequency spectrumspecified for downlink communications.
 16. A computer-readable storagedevice storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, causethe processor to perform operations comprising: receiving, from a firstmobile device, a first data request associated with first data of afirst data type; transmitting first data based on the first data requestto the first mobile device; receiving, from a server, second data of asecond data type different than the first data type, the second dataassociated with a second data request originated by a second mobiledevice; allocating a first portion of network resources to servicerequests for the second data type while retaining a second portion ofthe network resources to service requests for the first data type; andtransmitting the second data to the second mobile device using the firstportion of network resources.
 17. The computer-readable storage deviceof claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving thesecond data request; and sending the second data request to the server.18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the firstdata type comprises voice communications, data communications, or both,and wherein the second data type comprises multimedia content.
 19. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the second datacomprises broadcast media content or on-demand media content.
 20. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the transmittingthe second data comprises multicasting the second data to a plurality ofcommunication devices that requested the second data, the plurality ofcommunication devices including the second communication device.